Giltedge

Giltedge, known in the barn as “Tex,” is a 17h dark bay Irish Sport Horse gelding by Glenbar (3/4 bred) out of Kitty.  He was born in 1986 in Ireland.

Formerly known as Giltex, Giltedge was bought by Jacquie Mars from Irish eventer Eric Smiley for  David to ride. Although described by his rider as being less inherently gifted when compared to some of his stable mates (such as Custom Made), Giltedge’s fantastic work ethic helped him to succeed.

Tex's first three-day in the United States was the 1994 Fair Hill International Three Day Event.. It was at the 1995 Fair Hill Three Day that Giltedge showed his great ability, finishing second by 0.1 penalties.  After that event, the horse would never be out of the top ten placings.

Giltedge was selected for the United States eventing team for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. A good dressage test, combined with a clean cross-country and stadium round, helped the team to clinch the silver medal by two penalties--the country's first eventing team medal in an Olympics or World Championship in 12 years. Tex also competed four years later at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, as part of the bronze medal team.

Giltedge's final three-day was the 2002 World Equestrian Games held in Jerez, Spain. The gelding was the first American horse on cross-country, and the course was found to be quite slick.  Unfortunately, the pair finished with 30.40 time faults. However, a clear stadium round, one of only 5 in the competition, helped the United States capture a long-awaited team gold.

Tex was retired at the Rolex Kentucky Three Day in 2003. He now enjoys his retirement at Stonehall Farm, and gives demonstrations with the O'Connors.

Major accomplishments for Tex and David include:

2002 Horse of the Year, Chronicle of the Horse
     Team Gold World Equestrian Games, Jerez, Spain
2001 National Performance Horse Registry Silver Stirrup Award, Adv. Level Eventing Champion
     1st Rolex Kentucky CCI****
2000 Team Bronze Olympic Games, Sydney, Australia 
     8th Foxhall CCI***
1999 Team Gold, Individual Silver Pan American Games, Winnipeg, Canada
     1st North American Beaulieu CIC***
1998 Team Bronze, 6th World Equestrian Games, Rome, Italy
1997 National Performance Horse Registry Silver Stirrup Award, High Score Horse
     1st, Fair Hill CCI***
     3rd, Punchestown CCI***
1996 Team Silver Olympic Games, Atlanta, Georgia
1995 1st Fair Hill CCI***

David  on Giltedge: "Tex became a great favorite of mine in a lot of ways. I like to say that he always shows up for work, and he's done what he's accomplished with less native ability than some other horses have. He's not as naturally talented as somebody like Custom Made, so he has to work harder at it, and he knows he has to work harder at it. Mark Phillips called him a "useful" horse. But he won two three-stars and a four-star, and ended up with six medals to his credit. That's pretty good for not being "the most talented." Biko, Eagle Lion, Out And About, and Custom Made were the stars who were supposed to bring home the big medals for the team during the mid- to late 1990s. Well, every time you turned around, Tex was the highest-placed American horse on the team, and he just kept doing it. That's why his victory at Rolex Kentucky in 2001 was such a big emotional win for me--because it was Tex being the star at last."

Excerpted from Life in the Galloping Lane, by Karen and David O'Connor with Nancy Jaffer, published in August 2004, by the Equine Network.